Dear Evan Hansen director Adam Penford on creating powerful moments that sing
Dear Evan Hansen director Adam Penford on creating powerful moments that sing
Nottingham Playhouse's artistic director has directed the show's first ever UK tour...
It’s a huge deal that the first ever UK tour of Dear Evan Hansen was produced at and premiered at the Nottingham Playhouse. The smash-hit musical has won countless awards and has a huge cult following, meaning the theatre world’s eyes are rightfully on our city.
We’ve spoken with director Adam Penford, who is also the Playhouse’s artistic director, about why it’s such a powerful show, what it was like putting together the non-replica production, and how it’s even more relevant today than it was when it premiered eight years ago.
If you’re looking for things to do in Nottingham and love a theatre show, this production of Dear Evan Hansen at Nottingham Playhouse is worth seeing before it embarks on its UK tour. It’s here until September 28, but if you do miss out, it’s also on at Leicester’s Curve Theatre from October 1-5.
“I can't imagine anyone leaving without being moved by it” — director Adam Penford on the power of Dear Evan Hansen
By Eve Smallman
Photos by Marc Brenner
My favourite thing about musical theatre is the goosebumps. The soaring high notes, the tear-jerking scenes, and the moments that make your heart stop. While there are shows that do all this at some point, there aren’t many that can truly keep you enraptured throughout.
One of the few shows that does do this is Dear Evan Hansen.
The show follows anxious teen Evan (played by Ryan Kopel), as his lie about having been friends with recently-deceased classmate Connor Murphy (played by Killian Thomas Lefevre) spirals out of control — especially when he goes viral on the internet. This is the first time that the Tony, Grammy, and Olivier-winning musical is embarking on a UK tour, with Nottingham Playhouse’s own artistic director Adam Penford at the helm of the production.
The producers of the West End show approached him, saying they’d like the show to tour the UK with a brand-new production. Cue a new cast, new set, and new choreography. “It's very rare that you work on a musical where every single song is amazing,” says Adam. “Usually there's a few which aren’t as strong and every one slightly looks at their watch — but that isn't the case with this show. Every single song is just brilliant and they’re all very different.”
With the music and lyrics being by EGOT (that’s Emmy, Tony, Oscars and Grammy) winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — who have also penned La La Land’s City of Stars and The Greatest Showman’s songs — it’s no surprise it’s filled with hit after hit, that get you right from the start. I found it very hard to shake the lump in my throat after hearing Ryan Kopel’s poignant, flawless vocals in Waving Through a Window and For Forever. His intentionally shaky, sweaty performance throughout made me want to jump on stage and give him endless reassurance — even though obviously Ryan had it all under control.
Thankfully, there are funny, comical character songs and lines that provide some much-needed relief in between stressful, cringey moments. For example, the character Jared Kleinman (played by Tom Dickerson) brings peppy energy to Sincerely, Me and perfectly captures the audience’s thoughts with the line, ‘I can’t believe you tried to kiss Zoe Murphy, on her brother’s bed, after he died.’ The show has a huge range of emotions that move seamlessly up and down throughout, thanks to the harmony of the script and songs.
“Notoriously with musicals, the script and the scenes aren't always as strong and are just a way of getting from one song to another song — but it’s actually so witty and moving,” says Adam. “On the first day of rehearsals, we did a version where we just read the scenes and didn't sing any of the songs, and it stood up as a drama. But when you add in the songs? It goes to a whole other level.”
Adam says they also took this approach when rehearsing songs — reading them initially out loud in order to really showcase the depth of the words being said. I found this really stood out in Requiem, with Lauren Conroy letting Zoe Murphy's raw anger and hurt show through her voice and body language. The choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (of Six the Musical and Hamilton fame) brings nuance in smaller ones like this, as well as in joyful, big celebrations like ‘friendship’ in Sincerely, Me and togetherness in You Will Be Found.
The easy movement between everything is impressive, especially considering the fact the show is packed with scenes — about 50 different small ones in total, according to Adam. “Some of the scenes are only 45 seconds to a minute long, so they're very quick and economical with how they tell the story.”
“What that means as a director is there are about 50 different small scenes in the show, so pulling off the mechanics of moving the set design was really complex,” he explains. “We’ve spent time finessing it and tightening it, which means we’ve knocked about six minutes off the total running time, just by squeezing the scene changes — and hopefully the audience feels that.”
I did — just like using social media and technology, it’s smooth, easy, and instantly gratifying. However, I noticed the speediness particularly during the second act and wondered if the show could perhaps pause and let the weight of heavy moments rumble on for a little longer.
As well as having catchy songs and strong performances, the show also plays with themes that — despite premiering on Broadway in 2016 — resonate today. In fact, they arguably strike more of a chord than they did back then.
“In the last few years, there has been a real conversation growing about the impact of the internet and social media on young people,” says Adam. “There can be lots of positives, with it connecting you and making you feel like you belong to an online community. But, there can be downsides in terms of bullying and trolling.”
Both of these big highs and lows are shown in Dear Evan Hansen. The cinematic You Will Be Found during Evan’s viral moment is a real triumph, with the stage strikingly filled with social media videos and gospel-style vocals. Equally, the lows (which I won’t spoil!) are very relatable for anyone who has felt their stomach lurch while interacting with people on the internet.
“It's very easy to be anonymous and hide behind a faceless profile and that Instagram life. The way that people portray their idyllic lives isn't realistic, but puts pressure on people,” Adam tells me. “There are real tragedies of young people who have taken their own lives, with the internet and social media being traced to their tragic decisions.”
Adam adds that there has been ongoing public discourse about young people and technology, such as the UK parliament debating the right age for young people to have a mobile phone and schools trialling taking phones off kids when they arrive at school and giving them back when they leave. “I think we're aware as a society of the negative impact it's having, but we're really struggling to keep up with advances in technology.”
This present-day relatability is something that Adam has picked up on when watching the show with an audience present. “During one performance, there was a teenage girl and her mum. In the time of the scene where Evan and his mum have an emotional scene together, the teenage daughter put her head on her mum's shoulder and her mum put her arm around her teenage daughter,” explains Adam. “It made me well up watching it. They were connecting with the characters and the story and it made them appreciate the people they had in their lives.”
I related to this scene as well — I have younger siblings who surprise me every day with what they do and how they act on social media, which makes it a struggle to connect sometimes. Snapchat streaks are part of morning routines and TikTok videos are part of self-expression. I do feel like this version of Dear Evan Hansen captures the sense of being plugged in constantly brilliantly, thanks to the window-style set that moves seamlessly and the cacophony of notification sounds that ring out at the right moments.
“It's a human piece of theatre. Yes, there’s some heavy stuff in there, but it’s hopeful and it makes you feel positive — that’s why people should see it,” says Adam. “I can't imagine anyone leaving without being moved by it.” No matter who you are or what your experiences in life are, I can assure you that there will be something that draws you in and grips you.
And if there really isn’t? Ryan’s rendition of Waving Through a Window will stay with you for absolute days.
Dear Evan Hansen plays at Nottingham Playhouse until September 28.
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